Maverick Asian community hosts Colors of Asia

Seven countries came together to share in cultural food, music and dancing

On Nov. 11, the third annual Colors of Asia event took place in the CSU Ballroom. The event featured Asian countries, including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Japan, and Pakistan. Some students from these areas are also involved in different RSO’s on campus, such as the MavLankans and Nestcom.

The event started off with a semi-formal dinner, which gave some of the attendees the opportunity to try food from different Asian countries. The dinner was followed by a cultural booth that showcased the different cultures and with their different flags. Most people were fully dressed in their cultural attires, which were indeed colorful.

“I had the opportunity to see live some of the cultural dressings from Asia,” said one of the attendees, “and also to know some of the history and the differences and similarities of some of the Asian countries from the slide shows that were presented during the event.”

After the informational booths segment of the evening, the entertainment kicked off. This was hosted by Nayeem Imtiaz and Faical Rayani.

The entertainment part was filled with so much excitement, especially when people from the audience cheered for their country when they performed. There was dancing and song presentation from the different countries. There was South Korea hip up, which was presented by Suhyung Bae and Gyeongryeol Park and was sang in Korean; this raised the excitement in the ballroom even more as the audience danced and sang along with the music.

There were other songs and dance performances, some of them joint performances that were sang by singers from two different countries. One of them was an Urdu song that was sung by Kiana and Jamal; Kiana is from Iran and she speaks Farsi, while Jamal is from Pakistan and speaks Urdu. Another was a dance performance by some Nepali girls to a Bangladesh song. This kind of collaboration shows the strong unity between Asian countries.

There were other songs from other countries: “Tarai Tarai,” a love story that travels across galaxies and “Chad Mama,” a song that talks about the childhood memories of people living abroad and stories that all Bangladeshis grew up with. Live bands also performed, including Elements (Nestcom).

There were other songs and dance performances that also showcased the different cultures of some Asian countries.

“International students put on four signature nights every year,” said Facial Rayani, former MSSA president and one of the entertainment hosts for the eveninng. “This year international students from Asia mostly got together to create this beautiful regional cultural night. Students far from home get to experience a little bit of home. Domestic students get to experience ‘the colors of Asia’ right here in little Mankato. I encourage more domestic students to attend these cultural nights because that is half the reason these nights are put on.”

One thought on “Maverick Asian community hosts Colors of Asia ”

I am an MSU alumnus and Gulf War veteran currently living in Cambodia–this is my home–but will be heading back to India for my seventh trip in twenty-odd years, mostly for the Bikaneer Camel Fair in Rajisthan on January 13th near the border with Pakistan. I also lived and taught in South Korea for nine years and have fond memories of that experience and have traveled all the countries mentioned. Nevertheless, I would find it, as an American war veteran, difficult to function at multicultural Mankato State University, attending school on a diversity campus where photos of happy foreign students are posted on Facebook in front of a library where returning war vets have committed suicide. I would find it depressing attending a school that no longer serves the poor farm kids it was designed for and living in a country where every two months or so there is a mass murder of Americans on Americans. I hear, though, that MSU is a wonderful place for gay kids now. Is that true? Because all I experienced there was gay bashing and stalking while at Multicultural U back the nineties–as a war vet. It was horrible for gays back in the early nineties when I was there on the GI Bill and the university was celebrating the diversity of cultures that regularly murdered and imprisoned gay kids. I am sure that is no longer done. I have heard it was a horrible place not long ago for eccentric football coaches. At any rate, I am glad to see you are all happy now and multicultural back there.